PVA

The angler's guide to PVA

The advent of PVA has revolutionised carp angling. Why? Because this product works wonders, or at least helps to catch fish, even in seemingly hopeless situations.

It turns out that these magical tapes, nets, bags or strings can become an effective assistant in reaching carp and putting real giants on the mat.

What is PVA?

PVA stands for polyvinyl alcohol and is used in a wide range of industrial applications, from pharmaceuticals to toilet blocks. Carp anglers have also come to appreciate its unique qualities as, apart from the fact that it dissolves in water, it is also fully biodegradable, which means it is safe for the aquatic environment.

Where and when to use PVA?

PVA can be called a universal product when it comes to carp fishing. It can be used anywhere and in any case. It is also quite often the case that PVA is the last resort when carp are not feeding very well. This is all thanks to the possibility to concentrate the bait in close proximity to the hook. PVA can be used for both distance and near shore fishing.

PVA products work equally well on short sessions where spot and precise fishing is important in order to achieve satisfactory results quickly. Mobile anglers will also appreciate it, as the use of a minimum amount of bait in a PVA prevents fish from overfeeding. For mobile fishing, this guarantees effective fishing without spreading large quantities of bait over a wide area.

How does PVA work?

PVA is a product that simply dissolves in the water, leaving no unwanted aromas or visual effects to deter fish. It is a product that is designed to "transport" bait or groundbait from shore to water and disappear.

Using PVA is trivially simple:

• Fill, for example, a PVA bag with the bait of your choice

• Secure the bait against escaping

• Attach to the set

• Place it in your desired spot

• Wait for the result

The PVA dissolving in the water will leave a portion of the bait concentrated around the hook. This is a real rarity for carp and will bring them right into your tackle.

You can use PVA products where you want and with whatever bait you want. Pellets, groundbait, grains, feed boilies, worms and even liquid flavourings - as long as they are not water based. Such a wide range will allow you to adapt to any conditions on the water and tempt the biggest specimens to bite.

Types of PVA

String - is braided from thin fibres. It is mainly used for stringing balls one after another or tying up bags.

Advice:

To avoid the problem of shrinking string and boilies clumping together, it is a good idea to make a knot under the bait or double thread the string through the boilie.

PVA tape

These are longitudinal strips cut from a sheet of PVA. The tape, like the string, can be used to thread the boilies onto it. Due to its thicker profile, the tape holds taut baits better. It is perfect for long casts and does not shrink too much in water.

PVA bags

As the name suggests, these are bags that can be filled with all kinds of bait. They can be boilies, dried grains, pellets - no matter what size they are. The bags can also be filled with a liquid booster itself if it is PVA friendly and contains no water in its composition, like our Liquid PVA Stick Booster. Using a liquid attractor for baiting is a great solution for autumn and winter fishing when you rely mainly on single baits. The liquid attracts fish strongly but the only food is the bait.

PVA bags also come as a sleeve, in which case it can be cut to any length.

Tips:

To keep the bag from floating, puncture it with, for example, a boilie needle. This will help the air trapped inside to escape. Do not use this method when using liquids.

Bags and tubes are also available with perforations, so you don't need to puncture them.

PVA nets

PVA mesh is made of woven PVA thread. This stocking material has revolutionised carp fishing. It can be stretched over tubes (PVA Tunnel System) or rolled up on disks as a spare net. Thanks to its open weave, it prevents air from being trapped inside.

There are narrow and wide mesh sleeves of different weave densities (the finer the net, the slower it dissolves in the water). PVA nets can be cut to any length and made into "sausages" in various sizes, which are tasty to carp.

The advantage of PVA mesh is that they dissolve much faster than bags, which makes them suitable for shallower waters. They are also great for making so-called PVA sausages, which can be filled with ready-made stick mix such as our proven SuperFeed Stick PVA.

Tips:

If you have a knack for individual combinations then making your own stick mix will not be too complicated for you. There are thousands of combinations but it is worth deciding on something specific. Use our Micro Pellet 2mm SuperFeed, crushed pellets, a drip of fish oil (or other oil) and an attractor suitable for PVA such as Liquid PVA Stick Booster or you can add some dry bait. Mix the mixture so that you get something like a wet mix. And done!

There are many ways of mounting the sausage, but the most popular is to pierce it with a long needle and put it on the leader so that the end of the sausage is directed towards the hook.

PVA products seem to have found their way into carp anglers' bags for good. The number of combinations and intended use are so wide that they give the angler countless possibilities. Another reason for choosing and fishing with PVA is the effectiveness, often taking failure out of the picture on the fishing ground.